Senior Principal Software Engineer

About the role

The Senior Principal Software Engineer will lead the design and development of next-generation Agentic AI platforms and applications that power personalization, lifecycle engagement, and customer journeys across Shutterfly. This role is responsible for shaping the architecture, design, and implementation of AI systems that directly drive conversion, customer satisfaction, and long-term growth.

Responsibilities

• Own and build Agentic AI Platforms
• Architect and build scalable agentic AI systems that power various seamless experiences for customers that drive conversion and customer delight
• Develop multi-agent systems that reason, plan, and take actions across tools and services
• Build Autonomous agents operating across end-to-end customer journeys
• Enable multiple teams to innovate independently
• Drive End-to-End Technical Strategy
• Define platform abstractions and reusable capabilities that enable teams across the organization to build and deploy AI-powered experiences independently
• Contribute to, define and lead architecture for AI platforms integrated into Shutterfly
• Build foundational capabilities including: Evaluation frameworks for AI quality, safety, and business impact; Scalable inference and orchestration infrastructure; Ensure systems are highly available, performant, and production-grade at scale
• Maintain deep hands-on involvement in prototyping, architecture, and critical production systems, setting the standard for engineering excellence
• Leverage modern AI tooling (LLMs, agents, vector databases, orchestration frameworks)
• Set the standard for AI-driven engineering productivity and development practices
• Lead by example in coding, design reviews, and system debugging
• Deliver Measurable Business Impact
• Define and track AI-specific success metrics, including model quality, latency, cost efficiency, and business KPIs
• Partner with Product, UX, and Data teams to translate AI capabilities into: Increased conversion and revenue; Improved customer experience and engagement; Faster time-to-market for new capabilities
• Drive experimentation (A/B testing) and ensure AI systems deliver quantifiable outcomes
• Lead Across the Organization
• Influence architecture and execution across multiple teams and domains: Ecommerce platform (shopping, cart, checkout); Creation flows and personalization systems; Marketing technology and lifecycle platforms
• Mentor senior engineers and leaders; raise the bar on AI and system design excellence
• Champion adoption of agentic AI and AI-first development practices across engineering

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an Engineering discipline or Computer Science
• 12+ years of software engineering experience with deep expertise in distributed systems
• Proven track record of architecting and delivering large-scale, high-impact systems
• Experience influencing and leading cross-organizational technical strategy
• Strong hands-on coding and system design skills
• Experience operating large-scale, highly available cloud systems
• Demonstrated ability to translate advanced technology into business impact